Our knowledge of bird evolution was incomplete for a long time, especially regarding the Mesozoic, because of a relative lack of fossils for significant periods of this group’s history. Things have considerably improved over the last twenty years, in particular following the discovery of numerous Cretaceous birds, especially in China, but also in other regions of the world (South America, Europe, etc.). Contrary to what is sometimes claimed, bird fossils are not really rare and are even particularly abundant at localities with exceptional preservation (Lagerstätten), like, for example, the Lower Cretaceous lacustrine deposits in North-East China, or the Eocene Messel Pit, in Germany.  <...>

Earth is a constantly changing dynamic entity, composed of multiple complex physical, chemical, and biological systems that interact on a spectrum of time and spatial scales. To comprehend the Earth System as a whole, we must understand the nature of these complex subsystems, both now and in the past, and identify the important linkages among them. Earth is now experiencing many changes, some large and more rapid than others.

This book is the sequel to Palaeomagnetism and Plate Tectonics written by Michael W. McElhinny, first published in 1973. The aim of that book was to explain the intricacies of paleomagnetism and of plate tectonics and then to demonstrate that paleomagnetism confirmed the validity of the new paradigm. Today it is no longer necessary to explain plate tectonics, but paleomagnetism has progressed rapidly over the past 25 years. Furthermore, magnetic anomaly data over most of the oceans have been analyzed in the context of sea-floor spreading and reversals of the Earth's magnetic field. Oceanic data can also be used to determine paleomagnetic poles by combining disparate types of data, from deep-sea cores, seamounts, and magnetic anomalies. Our aim here is to explain paleomagnetism and its contribution in both the continental and the oceanic environment, following the general outline of the initial book. We demonstrate the use of paleomagnetism in determining the evolution of the Earth's crust. <...>